Finders Keepers
by Alchemist.Shieldmaiden
Summary: Astrid loses her comb the morning of her first day of dragon training, forcing her to wear her hair down for the day. As a result, Astrid learns a few things about Ruffnut. Ruffstrid (Ruffnut x Astrid) one-shot. Rated Teen for a few instances of swearing.


**Finders Keepers**

"Oh, come on! It has to be in here somewhere!"

Rummaging through her dresser drawers, all ten fingers searching furiously without finding purchase, was definitely not the way Astrid Hofferson wanted to start her first day of dragon training. With the sun soon rising over the horizon, there was little time to waste. Berk's strongest, bravest up-and-coming warrior would _not_ be late on the first day of class.

Though Astrid could have sworn she had everything prepared for this morning, from the filling breakfast that currently laid neglected on her table, to her sharpened axe that rested by the corner, in her haste, she had forgotten a very important item.

Her comb.

Fingers coming up empty once more, Astrid slammed the last drawer on her dresser and groaned. Every single drawer had been searched down to the last crevice. Her bed, nightstand, and every other possible hiding-place had been checked as well.

Still, no comb.

"Agh! I don't have time for this!"

Astrid turned from the dresser and glanced at the mirror. Cascades of long, blonde locks reaching the small of her back, untamed and wild, stared back at her. She bit her lip as she studied her reflection, using her hands to smooth out some of her tresses' most relentless tangles.

"Stupid hair." Astrid huffed as she debated tucking the tempest of a mane behind her ears, then gave up and let it hang where it may. "Whatever."

Astrid scowled as she finished putting on her armor, then wolfed down the eggs and toast that had long cooled. While the lack of her trademark braid was irritating enough, the missing comb was a greater concern.

Nevertheless, Astrid lacked the time to either properly search for the comb or dwell on its possible loss. Gray dawn began to cast its magic above Berk, bringing with it the promise of a new day and a new battle in what seemed to be an endless war.

After giving her tangled roots one last brush with her hand, grabbing her axe, and taking a steady breath, Astrid opened the front door and stepped into the morning mist.

~

Her delay came with a price. As the training stadium came into her view, Astrid sighed. Four of the other young Vikings, all boys, gathered near the door, chatting excitedly amongst themselves. Their trainer, Gobbler, who was the village blacksmith as well as a seasoned veteran of the dragon war, had yet to arrive.

As she approached, her boots scraping across the cobblestones, four heads swiveled towards her. Four jaws dropped, and four sets of pupils dilated into a shape sickeningly reminiscent of hearts.

Ignoring them, Astrid stood near the gate, one hand on her mother's axe, the other balled up in a fist.

Snoutlout gave her a long, sly glance. "Whoa, Astrid! New hairdo's working out great for you."

Astrid rolled her eyes—the only worthy reply he deserved. _Oh, please. No amount of flirting will get you anywhere, creep,_ she thought with a smirk._  
_  
Fishlegs brought his hands to his face. "It's so beautiful! I mean! Uh! You're so beautiful! Uh, I mean…" His words trailed off as he began to sputter, turning so red that he began to resemble a very large, small-legged tomato.

Astrid snorted, nearly laughing.

Hiccup said nothing to her, though Astrid caught him staring at her out of the corner of his eye. _Stealth is not his strong suit,_ she thought. _Whatever. He's just going to be dragon bait today. _

Tuffnut looked her up and down, though his gaze was more analytical than lustful. "Hey, Astrid, what's with the hair?"

"Couldn't find my comb this morning," Astrid said gruffly, turning to him from her three foolhardy admirers. Unlike the others, Astrid could tolerate Tuffnut most days; his terribleness was mostly directed towards his twin sister. "Hey, where's Ruffnut?"

Tuffnut snorted. "Being lazy, like always. She was still getting ready when I left. Lazy oaf. That's fine, though," he added with a smirk. "More dragons for me to kill."

Astrid laughed. "Yeah, right. Like you'll even get a chance after I—"

_"Heeeeeeey guys!"_

Astrid and the others turned around to see Ruffnut running towards them. Two long braids of blonde bounced in time with her frantic steps, while the two shorter braids near her helmet held on for dear life. "Hey! Hey, I'm not late, am I?!"

Crossing his arms, Tuffnut snickered and shook his head at his twin. "Really, Ruff? Nearly late? First day? What the heck were you doing back at the house, huh?!"

Upon reaching the group, Ruffnut caught her breath before answering her brother. "Hah… Well… You know…" With a cheeky grin, she ran a hand through one of her long braids. "Making myself look good for some dragon killing! Hehehe!"

Tuffnut face-palmed, still shaking his head. "You're hopeless."

"Oh yeah? Well, you can suck my—_whoa_."

Ruffnut's eyes widened as they fell on Astrid—or, more specifically, on the wavy, golden hair that nearly fell to her waist. Astrid felt her own eyes widen as the taller Viking girl approached her, her gaze fixated on her locks.

"Uhh… Um… Ruff? What are you doing?" Astrid half-hissed, half-whispered, looking up in abject horror as Ruffnut, who normally barely acknowledged her existence, stared at her like she was a Night Fury.

Ruffnut reached a hand towards Astrid's hair. "_Me likey_…"

A heat rose in Astrid's cheeks, burning deep when she noticed that all of the boys—timid Hiccup included—were looking on, fascinated. Before her personal space could be invaded even further, Astrid shoved Ruffnut in the shoulder.

"Uh!" Ruffnut stumbled, then was yanked forward by a hand on the collar of her tunic.

Astrid yanked Ruffnut down to meet her eyes. "What the hell was that for?!"

_"... Uh!"_ Ruffnut blurted, still wide-eyed. _  
_  
Astrid shook her a bit, her surprise and embarrassment fading to further anger. "Is that the only word you know?!"

Shaking her head, Ruffnut pushed Astrid's hand away and stood back up. "No! No, of course not! Duh! What, do you think I'm stupid or something?" she spat, rubbing at her collar.

"No, I think you're a freak!" Astrid snapped back. Her grip on her axe tightened and her free hand balled back up into a fist. "Do you just go up to people and touch their hair?!"

"Well, I'm sorry if it… if it looks nice!" Ruffnut said with a growl, stomping a boot in the ground. "That's all I was gonna say!"

Snoutlout piped up, "It looked like you were gonna ki—"

Ruffnut pushed him hard in the shoulder, sending him face-first into the ground. "_Shut up!"_

Spitting dirt, Snoutlout glared up at her, unable to reply with a tongue full of earth._  
_

_Gonna WHAT?!_

Astrid looked from Ruffnut to Snoutlout, narrowing her eyes. Although she stared them down, both were silent, save for Snoutlout's continued spitting as he dragged himself to his feet and wiped the dirt from his clothes. The others looked on in equal silence, even Tuffnut, who was giving his sister a sideways glance.

Finally, after a few more moments of the most awkward silence she had yet to experience, Astrid forced a sigh, then turned to Ruffnut. "Well, that's… really weird, but… sorry for grabbing you, I guess," she mumbled, crossing one arm and driving the axe head into the dirt with the other.

"Uh… It's fine," Ruffnut muttered, her hands behind her back. "Um… Why is your hair like that, though? Getting sick of the braid? Heh…"

"I couldn't find my comb this morning," Astrid said flatly.

Ruffnut rubbed her arm, avoiding the other girl's eyes. "Oh. That sucks…"

Astrid groaned. "Yeah, especially because—"

"Good morning, everybody! Sorry I'm a bit late!" Gobbler hobbled up to the group, his peg leg half-cooperating with his steps. He laughed merrily, raising his hooked hand into the air. "Are all of you ready for your first lesson?"

Attention shifted away from Astrid and Ruffnut to the hobbling Viking as the group cheered. Astrid gave Ruffnut one last sideways glance before following after the others, leaving Ruffnut and Tuffnut the last to head into the stadium.

Before they did so, Tuffnut whispered something in his sister's ear with a laugh, making her blush.

~

After that morning's lesson, Gobbler dismissed the students for the day.

Astrid was the last one to leave, every fibre of her being protesting, reluctant to go without a true fight. Even with her wild hair, she had come close to taking on the dragon. If it hadn't been for that cowardly Hiccup getting himself caught in a corner…

Once all the other students had left the stadium, Astrid had begged Gobbler to awaken the pudgy beast for another go-round, so she could _really_ show her skills, but he refused. "There's always tomorrow, lass," he had said with a smile. She had forced one back at him and reluctantly complied.

As she walked out of the stadium, Astrid looked down at her axe. She could practically see herself in the polished steel. _This is far too clean to be my mother's axe… It must taste dragon blood, and soon… I must—_

Her thoughts were cut short by the loud clamor of the twins arguing for the hundredth time that day. Astrid lazily looked up to see both of them perched on nearby rocks. Tuffnut took a sharpening stone to his axe, while Ruffnut, who faced away from her, appeared to be messing with one of her braids.

"Shut up_,_ Tuff! I swear to Odin, I'll—"

"Oh, you'll _what_? Huh? Don't forget, sis, I have the _ultimate_ dirt on you!"

Ruffnut punched him in the shoulder. "I said, _SHUT UP_!"

Scowling, Astrid called over to them, "Hey, can _BOTH _of you shut up?!"

The twins whirled around. Tuffnut wore a smug grin. "Oh, well, look who it is… Miss Show-Off herself."

Astrid glared at him. "At least I lasted longer than you in the ring. They should call you _Weaknut,_" she said with a sneer. Turning to his sister, she added, "And while I'm at it, they should call you—"

Astrid's eyes widened.

There, in Ruffnut's fingers, was a comb. _Her _comb.

Instinctively, Astrid tightened her grip on her axe and ran up the hill towards Ruffnut, who sat there, jaw-agape and wide-eyed once more. The twins exchanged a silent, confused glance.

As she rose to meet them, Astrid pointed at Ruffnut. "That's my comb! _That's my comb!"_

"Huh?" Tuffnut rounded on his sister. "I thought you found that in the woods!"

"I did!" Ruffnut insisted, raising both her hands—and the comb—in open submission. When she lowered them, Astrid snatched the comb from her fingers.

Running a finger along its spine and teeth, Astrid checked every inch, relieved to find that nothing was broken. Carved out of dragonbone and painted with warrior runes on the spine, the comb was unmistakable even at a distance.

Her joy at this discovery quickly faded when she met Ruffnut's confused eyes again. Astrid tucked the comb in her hair and stared the other girl down. "'Found it in the woods,' did you? A likely story!"

This time, Ruffnut held her gaze. "Are you calling me a thief?"

Astrid pushed the head of her axe into the dirt, gripping the handle with both hands. Leaning forward, she said with clenched teeth, "Maybe. Seems weird that _you _would have _my_ comb right after it goes missing."

"I said, I found it in the woods."

"Oh yeah? Well, since you seem to be so _fascinated _by my hair—" Astrid smirked as the faintest hint of crimson spread across Ruffnut's cheeks—"how do I know you didn't steal it so you could—"

Two hands came in between them and shoved them apart. "Alright, enough!" Tuffnut said with a groan and a glare towards Astrid. "You're being ridiculous!"

"Am I?" Astrid challenged. "How do I know she actually—" Astrid raised her hands and made mock quotation marks—" 'found' my comb and didn't—"

"Because she's not a thief!"

"That's exactly what you would say if she was!"

Tuffnut face-palmed, shaking his head. When he looked back up at Astrid, he lowered his voice and said, "Look, my sister's pretty lame, but she's not a damned_ thief_, okay? Now, you've got your comb back, alright? We could have pulled 'finders keepers,' but we didn't. You don't need to upset her, too."

At those words, Astrid's gaze drifted back to Ruffnut, who was facing away from them, her hands in her lap.

A brief silence passed between the three, interrupted only by a soft sound.

_Is she… crying?_

Tuffnut laid a hand on his sister's shoulder.

Astrid's eyes widened. The two acted more like rabid wolves than family towards each other for as long as she could remember.

"You okay, Ruff?" he asked quietly.

Ruffnut nodded.

"You sure?" Tuffnut rubbed her shoulder again.

Ruffnut nodded again, then made the same small sound. A sniffle.

Astrid felt a stone settle in her stomach.

Tuffnut glared at Astrid with the intensity of dragon's fire, his expression as cold as winter ice. He would the same if she had just told him she was giving up the war and joining the dragons' side.

Tuffnut spat on the ground, his saliva landing beside her spit.

"I hope you're proud of yourself, Hofferson."

Tuffnut grabbed his sharpening stone and axe and stormed off down the hill towards the village below.

Leaving Astrid alone with the stone in her stomach and Ruffnut's sniffles.

The silence was thick and foreboding, raising gooseflesh on Astrid's arms. She looked down at her axe as if it contained the answers, while Ruffnut faced away from her, her hands rubbing at her arms.

_You made her cry._

She swallowed hard. _You're terrible._

Astrid bit her lip. _You should just go. You're going to make it worse. You're not exactly great with feelings, remember, Miss Show-Off?_

That much was true. Then again, Astrid felt the stone in her stomach turn to ice at the thought of leaving Ruffnut.

And though today marked the first time she had seen Tuffnut be a protective brother, she reasoned that he would not have left her with his sister unless he expected Astrid to apologize. If he thought she would just storm off in turn, he would have stayed with Ruffnut.

_I can't just leave her here. I upset her… somehow… and I should apologize. I should._

Astrid's feet remained frozen, and she felt her hands begin to shake slightly as she gripped her axe.

Any dragon would be preferable to this.

Ruffnut sniffled again, pulling the ice in Astrid's stomach up to her heart.

Astrid swallowed again, then took a deep breath.

After resting her axe against the stone, Astrid joined Ruffnut's side.

Sure enough, a tear shone on the taller girl's cheek, glistening in the sun.

"What do you want?" Ruffnut muttered, a sniffle breaking her words.

Astrid carefully sat down on the stone beside Ruffnut, then stared at her boots. She opened her mouth to reply, then closed it, finding her throat suddenly dry.

Ruffnut wiped the tear away with the back of her hand, avoiding the other girl's eyes. "You know," she said after a pause, her voice cracking, "if you want to sit and stare at the ground, you can do it somewhere else."

Astrid bit her lip.

When she didn't respond, Ruffnut feigned a hollow laugh. "Oh, so Miss Show-Off thinks she can take on any dragon, but she can't even—"

"I'm sorry."

Ruffnut scoffed. "Oh? You're sorry?"

"Yeah… I am."

"Are you sure?" Ruffnut growled, finally turning around.

Astrid looked up to meet Ruffnut's gaze. Red dotted the tall girl's eyes, which, she realized, were a particularly beautiful shade of blue that only the twins possessed. Although they were reddened, they were still quite lovely to look at, almost like—

_Wait… what in Odin's name am I doing? Staring at her eyes like some kind of… love-struck teenager or… No, c'mon, Astrid! Get it together! She just asked you a question, and—_

"Well?!"

Astrid gasped, then sat up straight. "S-sorry. Um. Yeah, Ruffnut, I'm sure. I'm sorry," she said, finding herself talking faster than usual, "it's just that, well, this comb is special to me and I would really hate to lose it and I forgot that I had it with me when I went out hiking yesterday and—"

"I know it's special to you."

Astrid blinked. "Wh—how?"

Ruffnut brought a hand to her braid. "Well… I, uh…When I found it, I was, uh… really… impressed by it. Like, a master carver made it or something. And it wasn't until you said it was yours that I remember that your grandmother was a really good carver in the village. So, uh…"

Her fingers twisting in her braid, Ruffnut smiled down at Astrid.

In spite of her confusion, Astrid found herself smiling back up at her. "That's… pretty smart, actually."

Ruffnut rubbed her nape with her free hand. "Heh… I can be smart if I want to be." She frowned. "But, um… Yeah… If I had known it was yours, I would have given it back to you. Honest."

Both reading the sincerity in her eyes and hearing it in her voice, Astrid felt an additional twinge of guilt. While the twins could definitely be pranksters and troublemakers at times, they weren't _criminals_. Mentally kicking herself for even thinking such a thing, Astrid could only nod.

Her eyes now free of tears, her smile widening, Ruffnut laughed again—genuine this time, by Astrid's ear. She playfully punched the shorter girl's shoulder. "Heh, 'finders keepers' is just a joke anyway, right? And now you can… put your braid up."

"My braid… Right." Astrid ran a hand through her hair as she chuckled. "You know, it wasn't that bad being down like this, though. Didn't interfere with my combat at all."

A big, toothy grin spread across Ruffnut's face. "Yeah, and it looked really pre—nice. Really nice," she corrected, bringing both her hands to the same braid again.

_Nice, huh? It sounded like you were going to say something else…_

Her own smile widening, Astrid failed to reply, instead watching as Ruffnut's long, slender fingers tugged at her blonde braid and her blue eyes darted between hers and the ground.

Never before had Astrid truly looked at the other girl this way; never before had she noticed these features. That was not to say that Astrid _hated_ Ruffnut. She just had never paid much attention to her. Today, however, she had seen a brief but important glimpse of a different side of her, one that was rather clever, and kind…

_And there was that thing this morning… If I didn't know any better, I would think you… had a crush on me, Ruff… _Astrid found herself thinking, wanting to say for some reason, and even as she thought about wanting to say it, she felt a strange sort of…  
_  
_Ruffnut spoke up, breaking Astrid's chain of thought, her voice somehow deeper. "Hey! Uh! N-no staring at the ground, but… If you want to stare at… _m-me_, though… you should…"

A furious blush spread across her face.

With the sun dipping into the horizon in the west, Astrid put the pieces together, and sent a blush of her own rising to her cheeks.

"Oh…" Astrid exhaled, unaware that she had been holding her breath. "So…"

Astrid scooted closer to Ruffnut, by some power other than her own. "It's… It's like_ that_… huh?"

_Of all the girls in this village, I would have never guessed YOU were one of the gay ones, Ruff… _Astrid wanted to say, but even her returning courage wouldn't permit such boldness.

No, she wanted this to be a bit more subtle.

Ruffnut gulped. "Wha… huh?"

Astrid lowered her eyelids and continued to approach the other girl. "This morning… when you… looked like you were going to—"

"L-l-let's not talk about what I was going to do, Astrid," Ruffnut mumbled, trying but failing to scoot away.

_Astrid. Her voice gets a bit… deeper when she says my name._

"I know what you were going to do," Astrid whispered, smirking, feeling like a cat ready to pounce.

Ruffnut started to scramble, pushing back against the rock, though the only place to go was crashing down on the other side. Barely wide enough for both of them to sit on, the rock offered no shelter, no relief, from the oncoming tide that was Astrid Hofferson with a smirk on her lips.

Forcing a chuckle, red as the fiery sunset in the west, Ruffnut stammered, "Well, uh, heh! You would be, hah, um, wrong, because, I, uh, really like your hair, uh, down like that, and, uh—"

In less than a second, Astrid grabbed Ruffnut by the collar of her tunic, pulled her down, kissed her cheek softly, then pulled away.

Twin blushes and twin sets of blue eyes stared at each other, before one of them spoke up.

"Thanks for finding my comb."

Astrid quickly stood up, walked around to the other side of the rock, and grabbed her axe.

"Bye!"

Starry-eyed, Ruffnut opened her mouth, then closed it, paralyzed as she stared off into the same direction where Astrid had only been moments before.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity, she replied, "Bye…"

A dream-like sensation passed through her as she lifted her hand to her cheek. She could still feel where Astrid had kissed her.

Ruffnut removed her hand from her cheek and stared down at it.

"I'm not washing this cheek or this hand ever again…"

~

**Author's Note:** Hope you guys enjoyed this! Consider it a bit of an AU in this story. I love Hiccstrid but Ruffstrid is pretty awesome too and needs some more good stories! Anyway, the cover image can be found here: art/Ruffstrid-277185675. Please leave a review! Thanks! :)


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